Govt to launch UN-aided plan in 10 Naxal-infested districts

NEW DELHI: The government will roll out a United Nations-assisted livelihood security programme in 10 Naxal-infested districts in a bid to tackle the growing influence of Maoist rebels.

The rural development ministry, which has been spearheading the developmental approach to this Left-wing menace, has in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme worked out a five-year plan to make markets work for the poor, ensure that state governments are more responsive to the needs of these communities and to engage these communities in local governance.

Christened Governance and Accelerated Livelihood Security (GOALS), the plan will be implemented in the districts of Bastar, Kanker, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, and Raigada. These districts, spread across Chhattisgarh and Odisha, are the worst hit among the 82 districts categorised as Left-wing extremism-affected.

The government says that Naxal insurgency, which has claimed hundreds scores of lives, is the main threat to internal security. The livelihood security programme attempts to build on the understanding that economic empowerment of the local tribal population is key to stemming the influence of Maoist. This would require better harnessing of non-timber forest products, such as bamboo, honey, mahua and tendu leaves, on which the local communities are heavily dependent for their livelihood. There is also growing realisation that governments and its agencies need to be more sensitive to the needs of the local communities and involve them in governance.

To this end, efforts will be made to improve the local population's awareness of their entitlements and ensure that their grievances are addressed. Such a move will help address the impression of an insensitive and uncaring state, which the Maoist rebels have successfully exploited to cement their influence and control in these areas.

Work on the two planks of the GOALS programme-the financial and economic strengthening of communities and a more responsive government and empowered local communities-will be undertaken simultaneously. At the end of the five-year programme, the rural development ministry hopes to ensure an annual household income of 60,000 (at 2012-13 prices) in these districts.